


Children's loyalty

by The Drunken Whaler (Nomlakie)



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Child OCs, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Low Chaos (Dishonored), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, This is an AU that kind of drastically changes the canon ending, corvo is a good dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 12:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14213628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomlakie/pseuds/The%20Drunken%20Whaler
Summary: A conspiracy is a lonely place for a child to be, especially when the only person you can play with is out every other night on some daring mission to further your loyalists' agenda or even just to grab food and resources.So when Emily meets a trio of boys around her age, the chance to finally make some friends is a very welcome relief! But only a matter of time will tell who her new comrades really are...





	Children's loyalty

There wasn't much that could be said for the weather of Dunwall. Especially not in the later months of the year. And even less so for the grounds of the Hound Pits Pub. Dirty; that was always the first word that came to the young girl's mind whenever she went outside. Dirty, and lonely. Emily Kaldwin had at least chosen a fine afternoon to go outside after her lessons were finished (or more accurately: escaped), and she was mildly surprised she couldn't hear the sounds of the Admiral practising his marksmanship in the dockyard. Even _that_ would have made the front streets of the Hound Pits more lively than the eerily dead silence that seemed to linger over the city as much as the plague did.

Looking over at the littered debris of the abandoned area, the child found she was at a loss for things to do. She could draw, but she'd been doing that all morning and now she was quite bored of it. She couldn't really play any games because she had no-one to play with; Callista was out of the question, seeing as she was being avoided for fear of another lesson on etiquette. Martin hadn't been seen since that morning after he'd gone outside so that left him out. She didn't want to smell Lord Pendleton's booze on her clothes all day, but she doubted he'd agree anyway. And the Admiral... was just too big and grumpy to even bother trying. Sometimes Emily wondered if he'd soften up if he had a child of his own, but whenever the man glowered or glared, it was pretty clear he probably wouldn't. And Corvo was out with Mr Beechworth so neither man was available. It was times like this that made the girl realise she really wanted friends, moreover, friends her age. Friends who were _also_ children.

But she didn't know any other children. She'd never really had a friend or playmate even in the Tower, outside of other noble children. And none of them had ever seemed interested in _her_ games, anyway. Too busy trying to seem proper and act like little adults around the other boys and girls. Emily had wanted to adventure! To explore the Tower with other kids and climb on furniture like Corvo! To pretend to be _heroes_! But now, she couldn't even try to convince snotty-nosed brats to have fun, because there was no-one else around but grown ups. Grown ups who were too busy trying to beat the traitorous Regent and telling her to stop picking around in the trash. And to stay away from the abandoned apartment across the street.  
Both things of which, Emily had chosen to do. Maybe she could find something nice that'd been carelessly thrown away that she could use to make something for Corvo later! She'd gone through all the garbage she could in the dockyard when no-one was looking, and nothing interesting had caught her eye then. The hagfish made poking through the river too risky, so the garbage across the street it was! It wasn't like anyone could spot her and stop her anyway, the pub windows were frosted, and she hadn't seen anyone outside.  
"Oi, you new around here?"  
The princess whirled around to look behind her, defensive, but fear in her eyes.

On the wall next to the steps that lead to the abandoned apartment, sat a boy. He didn't look like he was any taller than her, with chestnut brown hair and silvery grey eyes. His outfit looked strange, different from the typical fashion of Gristol. A red tunic fastened with a belt over a grey shirt, dark red breeches tucked into buckled knee high boots, and a cream ascot around his neck. And he was watching her, poking through the trash like a rat. The thought made the girl bristle, and she pointed an angry finger at him.  
" _Who are you_?!"  
This prompted the boy to grin, a lopsided smile that Emily seemed to remember seeing before, on someone else.  
"Me name's Preacher, miss!"  
Emily blinked, the friendliness of the lad's tone catching her off guard. He didn't... _seem_ to be malicious. In fact, his accent sounded like he wasn't even from Gristol. But Preacher's sudden appearance unsettled her. And his assumption that she was _new_ irked her more.  
"How did you get here? No-one's supposed to be able to get in, this place is cordoned off, you know!"  
"Aye, I know. Bit rude tho', ain't it?"  
Rude? Now this boy thought she was being _rude_? The insufferable nerve of him wound her up further, her tone becoming clipped and blunt.  
" _I_ don't see how I'm rude!"  
"You ain't even told me your name yet! Equal exchange! I gave ya my name, now tell me yours!" Overall, Preacher seemed to be amused by her getting agitated. A commoner boy, clearly.  
"Not until you tell me how you got here! The adults in the pub will be angry otherwise!"  
Sighing, the brunet swung his feet, kicking the wall with the backs of his heels.  
"T'is place's me gang's stompin' ground. We've been here f'rages. Seen the grown ups around, but not you, y'see?"  
"What do you mean, 'we'?"  
"If ya want, I can take ya an' introduce ya! But you gotta tell me your name first, else me friend won' trust you."  
So, there were others. Emily didn't know if she could trust this boy yet, but he seemed quite excited about having met her. Maybe she was the only child he'd met outside his 'gang'. And she wondered what Corvo would do.

_Well, Corvo would go meet this boy's friends, but he'd give a fake name, just in case!_  
She assumed he would, anyway. It seemed like something Corvo would do.  
"My name is Delilah."  
"Solid! I met a lady once called Delilah! Owned a cake shop, she did! Roight, follow me, Delilah!" The girl felt a private rush of joy as Preacher didn't even question her answer, the boy hopping off the wall onto the ground behind him, waiting for her to follow. And follow she did, scuttling up the steps as fast she could before anyone could spot her following a strange boy. Who was leading her to the side door of the abandoned apartment building. He rapped his knuckles against the metal, before using a key he procured from his pocket to open the lock and push the thing out the way, giving her a chance to go in before him. Emily stepped inside tentatively, looking around with a mixture of awe and fear as the door shut again behind the two children. And then Preacher nudged her forward, toward and up the stairs.

At the top, the room she ended up in was furnished quite haphazardly; a few desks that had been dragged up from the floor below and been converted into a strange set of beds. A cabinet that had had most of its drawers pulled out to create extra shelf space on it. A wardrobe whose back panels had been ripped out and was propped up by the window to replace the lack of shutters using the doors instead. A side table in the corner which still had its cabinet door, locked with the key hanging off the handle. And various quilts, throws and cushions littered the floor. The place looked like it had been turned into a hideout... for _kids_! Sat around a small impromptu fire pit was another boy. A little blond one, with bright blue eyes and dressed like a noble-boy. With his mustard yellow waistcoat and breeches to match, buckled booties and cream cravat tucked into the collar of a white dress shirt; he turned to the newcomers, freezing upon seeing Emily in front of Preacher, then fearfully looking at the window at a taller, much _older_ boy, who was scowling at them both.

The older boy spoke first, voice gruff for a child.  
"Who's this, Preacher?"  
"Name's Delilah! Just met her, wanted to know who we are so I figured you guys'd wanna meet her!"  
Feeling herself be scrutinised, Emily puffed up her chest and stood defiant as the tall boy trudged over, being properly illuminated by the fire pit. His hair was shorter, dirty blond, and his eyes a brilliant green. He was dressed like a fish butcherer, with a blue tank top, dark blue whalers breeches and knee high wellies to match. On his hands were butcher's gloves that reached his elbows, and around his neck was a small bone charm necklace, something carved into the face of the ivory disk. And the way he scowled reminded her of the Admiral. His eyebrows knotted together and his eyes hardened in the same way as the old grump's did. He towered over her with his hands on his hips, lips taut in a thin line as the boy seemed to size her up.  
"Delilah, huh? Interesting. Name's Navy, that's Noble, behind me," the blond boy straightened up at the mention of his name, like he'd only just noticed he was being referred to, "so you wanted to meet us, huh? You with the adults across the way?"  
"I am, they're my guardians. They just make sure I don't get hurt, that's all. Apparently being a higher born person means I have to be babied all the time." Emily hadn't intended to pout at that moment, but she found herself doing so, anyway. The mention of her being highborn made Noble perk up, his shoulders visibly relaxing.  
"So you're a noble? My, it must be tiring, all that posh how-to-do... I couldn't manage it." His manner of speaking was polished, like he was more used to talking with the posh 'how-to-do' he seemed to dislike than his commoner friends. But Navy seemed unsure still. Unconvinced.  
"Still, strange that a richer person would come around here. You new?"  
The girl shook her head, her brow knitted slightly in a frown.  
"No, I've been here a while, but I just don't go outside much. I don't have any friends, you see, so going outside to play is awfully dull."  
Hearing that seemed to make Navy's brow soften, as if he was taking pity on her. In fact, all three boys seemed to look disappointed in hearing such news. But Preacher was the first to break the silence.  
"Well, you can play wit' us, if ya like! We don' care if you're a girl!"  
"So long as you don't mind gettin' muddy."  
"Oh, but we'll try not to hurt you, so we don't mind if you tell us we're being too rough or boyish!"  
All of a sudden, Emily found herself overjoyed at the thought of having someone to play with. They might not've been like the noble children at the Tower, but she didn't care. They were the first children she'd met in months and months, and they were inviting her to play with them!

But alas, before she could answer, the voice of a woman called outside.  
"My lady!! Where are you?! Come inside, it's getting dark and the Admiral will have a fit!" It was Callista. Sighing, as quickly as her elation had come it was gone, leaving her looking visibly deflated. A look Noble seemed to recognise very well, because he'd gotten up and stood beside her, a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
"It's okay, we can play tomorrow! Just knock on the door!"  
" _Absolutely not_. I'm not teaching her the knock. I don't know her."  
"But Navy-"  
" _No_!"  
Now it was Preacher's turn to speak again, his tone was pleading and his eyes full of worry and sadness.  
"Navy, I know you don't like it, but I saw her outside, pickin' t'rough th' trash all alone! We can't leave her, can we?"  
Navy seemed to consider his friend for a moment, before scowling harder than before (a look she honestly could see on the Admiral's face if she didn't get back soon), and going over to the desk-beds. There, he seemed to rummage through something, until he came back over with something clasped in his hands. Which he proceeded to drop into her hands. Emily peered down at it, eyes wide in confusion.  
"That's Tyvian Ore, that is. It's very valuable. It's also really, _really_ important to me. But, I want to know that I can trust you to take good care of it. So I'm giving it to you." Behind him, the fire crackled slightly, making the girl aware just how dark it was getting.  
"Th-thank you! I'll look after it, I swear!"  
Preacher's voice came from the window, the boy peeking through the wardrobe door he'd cracked open. "Good, go back to that lady, she looks like she's aboutta have a breakdown!"

And so, Emily found herself flying down the stairs as fast as she could, and out the door again. Trying to close the door quietly so Callista wouldn't suspect she'd been in there, she peeked out from the foliage of the plant there, the woman spotting her instantly.  
"There you are! Hurry, before the Admiral or Corvo realises you're not inside yet!"  
The girl hardly noticed the weight of that precious rock in her pocket as she dashed across the street toward her governess, babbling apology and excuse after another about why she didn't come right away. While the woman was annoyed with the girl, Emily fibbed about having seen a bird in the bush, and wanting to see if there was a nest in there she could look at, because she wanted to see the eggs. An answer which prompted the adult's mood to lighten slightly.  
"Were there any?"  
"No... But I decided to build a little nest in there anyway, in case any little birds wanted to, I think it'd save them time!"  
"And that's why you didn't come when I called you?"  
"Yes Ms Curnow, I was focused on trying to get the sticks to stay put."  
Callista nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.  
"Alright, but next time come when I call you, alright? It's dangerous to be out at night."  
"But Corvo's always out at night!"  
"Corvo is also armed, you're not."  
The princess pouted, annoyed that such a trivial thing as weaponry was what meant Corvo could go out, but she couldn't. But it wasn't like Emily could hold a sword, or a gun...  
"What if Corvo was with me? Would I be allowed out at later hours then?"  
This made her governess sigh, slightly defeated.  
"I'm sure the Lord Protector would prefer you stay inside after dark too, but I suppose as long as you stay around the front of the pub, it wouldn't worry anyone too much."  
"Good! Then I'll ask Corvo when he comes back!"

Corvo didn't return that evening, not until after Emily had gone to bed, at least. The girl knew because she could hear the boat as it chugged along back into the little makeshift bay, and the sound of voices going back and forth. She was alone for the time being, Callista not having returned for bed yet. So Emily took the chance to take the rock out of her pocket and look at it. It didn't _appear_ to be important, in fact it looked like a totally boring, normal rock. But it was important to that tall boy, Navy, and he trusted her to look after it. But she didn't trust herself not to lose it. And Navy had said it was a valuable ore. Maybe she should have Mr Piero test it, and prove it! But the thought struck her that the philosopher might try to sell it without realising why she had it, so that idea was scrapped. And then she feared that one of the adults, like Lord Pendleton, might try to get her to throw it away. So many ways to lose such a precious rock! So many ways to break Navy's trust in her and never get to be friends with those three boys. Eventually, she settled on the best idea. To give it back to Navy, and explain that it would be much safer with him. She'd already lost a special thing to her, the thought of losing someone else's special thing made her feel sick with guilt. Tucking it under her pillow, the girl settled down to sleep, trying to ignore the nagging bump against her head and her conscience as she drifted off.


End file.
